‘Fate of the Furious’ races off with $100.2M
Holiday weekend take could set a new global record
The eighth installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise is on the path to becoming the biggest worldwide debut of all time, besting both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World.
Studio estimates Sunday anticipate that The Fate of the Furious will earn a record $532.5 million worldwide for the holiday weekend, thanks to a particularly robust showing in 63 territories, including China.
If the figures hold, it will just inch past the previous record holder, The Force Awakens, which launched to $529 million in December 2015 without China.
F8 broke the record for biggest international weekend ever, with $432.3 million. The previous record holder was Jurassic World with $316.7 million.
An estimated $100.2 million of the global total comes from 4,310 North America — a second best for the franchise and enough to easily top the domestic charts, but well below the $147.2 million opening of Furious 7 in 2015.
The Fate of the Furious has returning stars like Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese and Ludacris, but has added new elements behind the camera in director F. Gary Gray and in front of the camera with Charlize Theron.
The $100.2 million is slightly below analyst expectations for the film. Audiences were 58% male, 50% under the age of 25 and diverse (41% were Caucasian, 26% Hispanic and 19% African American).
Two additional pictures are planned for the franchise. With the addition of F8, the franchise has earned an estimated $4.4 billion globally.
“It is a franchise that has adapted and changed over the years and is as relevant in 2017 as it was in 2001,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “The Furious franchise perfectly represents what that global audience is all about. They’re poised perfectly for installments nine and 10 to do very well. It’s still firing on all cylinders.” The Boss Baby took second place for the weekend with $15.5 million, while Beauty and the Beast held on to third with $13.6 million. Rounding out the top five: Smurfs: The Lost Village ($6.5 million) and Going in Style ($6.4 million).
Final numbers are expected Monday.